Publication Date
12-2025
Abstract
This mixed-methods study sought to extend what is known about preservice teachers’ (PSTs’) preparation for teaching writing by examining their responding to individual children’s narrative, informative, and persuasive writing at the start and end of a writing methods course. Participants were 115 elementary PSTs. Their selections of teaching foci and instructional strategies on a beginningand end-of-semester course task were examined. Overall, PSTs showcased differences in their selections at the two time points, displaying a lessened focus on local features (e.g., spelling, punctuation) and reliance on laypeople’s helping practices (e.g., telling, correcting writing) and a greater focus on global features (e.g., content, structure) and reliance on specialized practices (e.g., graphic organizers, mentor texts, textual analysis) at the end of the semester. Moreover, PSTs’ later selections displayed more sophisticated sequences of support. These trends were present in not only the narrative writing sample but also the informative and persuasive writing samples. The results offer particular insight into how PSTs’ addressing of children’s needs changes from the start to the end of a single semester and showcase the similarities and differences in PSTs’ selections across children’s writing samples and time.
Recommended Citation
Martin, N. M., Hawkins, L. K., Bottomley, D. M., Shanahan, B., & Cooper, J. (2025). Where Do I Go Next With This Writer? Preservice Teachers’ Responses at the Start and End of a Writing Methods Course. Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts, 64 (3). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizons/vol64/iss3/2
Included in
Language and Literacy Education Commons, Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons
